LYNN — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is hosting a virtual public hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. to present a design for construction improvements at two intersections in Wyoma Square.
The construction, which will require temporary lane closures, will be about a quarter of a mile from Four Winds on Broadway to Jenness Street.
It will focus on improving the intersections on Broadway at Euclid Avenue, by Mino’s Roast Beef, and Jenness Street, by Salvy the Florist.
This project is funded through state and federal grants, and the state is spearheading the consulting, engineering, and construction of the project.
“We’re really excited to see the state step in and take this project on on their own,” Mayor Thomas M. McGee said.
Over the past four years, the city has worked with MassDOT to identify locations that are in need of safety improvements, with the two intersections on Broadway being in the top-200 crash locations in the state.
“The reason they’re doing this is because it’s two, high-crash intersections,” said Department of Public Works Commissioner Andy Hall.
Construction is scheduled to begin on March 2, 2024 and is expected to take around 14 months.
“It’s good to see this moving forward,” McGee said. “They have a design and are having public meetings to make sure that everyone in the area has a chance to weigh in and understand what the project will do.”
The project will include safety improvements such as reconstructing sidewalks, curbing and wheelchair ramps; replacing outdated traffic signals and control devices; adding bicycle facilities; improving transit stops; and roadway resurfacing.
The consulting firm in charge of design of the project is WorldTech Engineering, which has worked on other projects in the city before.
While the state is paying for the project, the city is only responsible for right-away acquisition — meaning any impact on individual homes when the work is being done — which McGee predicts will be a couple-hundred-thousand dollars.
“We’re responsible for the right-away only and the construction is 100 percent funded by the state, which is really great,” McGee said. “Instead of us having to pay $1 million or more for engineering and design, we won’t have to pay for that now, so this is a big deal.”
The city’s consulting team put together proposals for this project a few years ago and will continue to be in contact with the state throughout this process.
The virtual hearing on the design for this project is open to the public and can be viewed by visiting www.mass.gov/massdot-highway-design-public-hearings.
All views and comments submitted in response to the hearing will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible, according to MassDOT.
